IRVINE, Calif. –UC Irvine clinched a share of the Big West Regular Season title with a 52-44 victory over CSU Bakersfield Saturday at the Bren Events Center.  
 
The Anteaters finish with a 15-5 conference record, tying UC Santa Barbara for first place. UCI will be the No. 1 seed for the Big West Championship due to the tiebreaker of beating third place UC Riverside twice. 
 
UCI has captured four of the last seven regular season titles and sixth overall under head coach Russell Turner. 
 
Redshirt senior JC Butler was honored prior to the start of the contest for his five years dedicated to the program. Butler's resume includes three regular season titles, a Big West Tournament crown, and the program's first NCAA Tournament win.
 
Guard Justin Hohn led UCI with 15 points, going 5-8 from the field, including 4-6 from three-point distance in 17 minutes of action. 
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
>10 different Anteaters scored and 11 grabbed at least one rebound
>Center Bent Leuchten followed with eight points and a team-high seven rebounds and a block
>Guard Dawson Baker totaled seven points on 3-8 shooting. He had three rebounds and two assists
>Forward Devin Tillis had five rebounds and went 2-4 from the floor and 2-2 from the line for six points
>The Anteaters shot 42.9 percent from the field and 10-14 from the line (71.4%)
>CSUB shot 30.2 percent (16-53) from the floor and were 0-10 from three. The Roadrunners were 12-15 from the line
>CSU Bakersfield was led by Antavion Collum's game-high 20 points 
>UC Irvine ends the season with an 11-4 record inside the Bren Events Center
 
FIRST HALF
>UCI opened up a 7-2 lead on the strength of two Bent Leuchten layups and a Dawson Baker three, 17:12
>Justin Hohn would knock down back-to-back three-pointers to increase the lead to 15-6 at 13:03
>Another Hohn three (12:17) was followed by an Andre Henry layup at 11:29, 20-8
>Hohn continued to be a factor, putting in a layup and free throw with 56 seconds left for the final score of the half, 29-18
>UCI shot 50 percent from the floor (11-22), while CSUB was 9-27 from the field (33.3%), including 0-5 from long distance 
 
SECOND HALF
>Dawson Baker opened the scoring with a layup (19:36) and then assist on a Devin Tillis layup at 16:12, 33-22
>The Roadrunners would score four straight to close within four (34-30) then UCI had back-to-back three-pointers by JC Butler (12:25) and Hohn (12:01), 40-30
>Four consecutive CSUB free throws kept it close 40-34 at 10:01
>Leuchten stopped the CSU Bakersfield momentum with a basket at 8:13, 42-34
>Following a Roadrunner basket, the teams would trade two free throws each before Baker had a layup (6:20), 46-38
>DJ Davis hit an important jumper and free throw at 2:51, 49-39
>The Roadrunners would score the next five to close to 49-44 with 32 seconds remaining
>Devin Tillis was be fouled with 26.9 on the clock, hitting both shots from the line, 51-44
>Dean Keeler swatted a CSU Bakersfield attempt and was fouled with 6.5 remaining. He hit the first of two free throws to end the scoring, 52-44 
 
NOTES
>For the first time this season, UC Irvine has held an opponent to zero three-pointers in a contest
>44 points are the fewest an opponent has scored on UC Irvine all season
>UCI has swept the Roadrunners for two consecutive seasons and improve to 9-3 all-time over CSUB
>Baker is now 28 points away from reaching the 1,000-career point milestone
>Davis sits 12^th all-time in UC Irvine history with 138 career made three-pointers. He needs four more makes to catch Scott Brooks (1985-87) and Travis Souza (2011-15) for 11^th with 142 triples.
>Hohn tied his career best four made triples that was first set against New Mexico State on Nov. 26, 2022 where he went 4-4 from long distance
>The Anteaters improve to 15-2 when Crockrell II dishes out five or more assists
>UC Irvine improves to 10-0 when holding opponents to under 60 points in a game
>For the first time in school history, both the men's and women's programs have clinched the regular season crown and are the first seeds in their respective tournaments

UP NEXT
No. 1 seeded UC Irvine will play the winner of No.8 CSU Bakersfield/No.9 CSUN in the Big West Quarterfinals on Thursday March 9^th inside the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. Tip-off is scheduled for 12 p.m. PT.
 
Fans can find for information about the 2023 Hercules Tires Big West Men's Basketball Championships here.